Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off for the first time in his Major League Soccer career on Monday before the Los Angeles Galaxy ended a four-match losing streak with a 1-0 victory over Montreal Impact.
Ola Kamara’s 75th-minute winner sealed the badly-needed points for Galaxy, who have slipped to mid-table in the Western Conference as the euphoria of Ibrahimovic’s debut in March has faded.
But the major talking point after the Galaxy’s vital away win was Ibrahimovic’s sending off in the 41st minute at Montreal’s Saputo Stadium.
Ibrahimovic reacted angrily after Montreal’s Michael Petrasso appeared to tread on his foot as he backed into the former Manchester United striker.
The 36-year-old striker responded with a slap to the side of Petrasso’s face.
Both players slumped to the turf following the incident, but after a review of the incident via VAR, Ibrahimovic was given his marching orders for violent conduct.
Petrasso was shown a yellow card for his role in the clash.
Montreal dominated the game throughout, registering 23 shots on goal to the Galaxy’s seven, but were unable to find a way through the visitors’ defence.
Kamara’s winner came on a rare foray into Montreal territory by Galaxy, with Kamara breaking forward to score after latching on to Emmanuel Boateng’s headed flick-on.
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